Captain Marvel #22 is written by Kelly Thompson, drawn by Lee Garbett, colored by Tamra Bonvillain, and lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles. Captain Marvel #22 is the first issue in a brand new arc following the Empyre event. 

Lauri-ell is back in space, acting as The Accuser, keeping the Kree-Skrull Empire safe. And Captain Marvel is back on earth, doing one last quick mission with War Machine, Hazmat, and Spider-Woman before she goes on a much-needed vacation. A quick mission that turns out to be more involved than anyone expected. Carol’s vacation may have to wait. 

Thompson has been writing Captain Marvel since the beginning of the series. Throughout 22 issues, it has done a wonderful job of continuing to develop Carol’s voice and her relationships with other characters. In Captain Marvel #22, Thompson continues to do this, especially developing Carol and Rhodey’s relationship. And with a few new characters introduced and some unexpected teammates, Thompson has a lot of opportunities to continue developing Carol as a character. 

Captain Marvel #22 is Garbett’s return to drawing Captain Marvel, new arc, new artist. Garbett brings his own style back to the story, while also keeping the art similar to the previous arcs. Where Garbett really excels is drawing interactions between Captain Marvel and her teammates, both through their body language and the ways they physically interact. Bonvillain’s colors are rich and intense. But even when using lots of dark colors in one panel, Bonvillain varies textures and shadows to keep things from blending together. 

After the Empyre event seemed to drag on, Captain Marvel #22 is an exciting return to a Carol-centric story that doesn’t require reading multiple other books to understand.  

GRADE: B